In one of His Tablets, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, after stating that
fasting consists of abstinence from food and drink, further indicates that
smoking is a form of "drink." In Arabic the verb "drink"
applies equally to smoking.
In the East, therefore, the friends abstain from smoking
during the hours of fasting, and friends from the East living in the West do
likewise. But, as stated in our letter to the National Assembly of New Zealand,
this application of the divine law has not been extended to the friends in the
West for the present, and therefore it should not be made an issue.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated March 15, 1972 to an individual
believer; Developing Distinctive Baha'i Communities, NSA of USA, 1998 edition)
